I will be doing a profile on each representative of each group of the genus.
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Species Profile: Crenicichla saxatilis (Spangled Pike Cichlid)
Scientific Name: Crenicichla saxatilis
Common Name: Spangled Pike Cichlid
Distribution: Coastal river drainages of the Guyanas (Guyana, Surinam, French Guyana) and the coastal rivers between the Amazon delta and French Guyana in Brazil.
Habitat: Shaded, heavily weeded banks of forest streams, rivers and pools.
Maximum Size: 12" for males, 9" for females.
Minimum Tank Size: A 2ft tank is adequate for housing a single female, while a single male will need a 3ft tank. A breeding pair (no tankmates) can be kept satisfactorily in a 4ft tank.
Tank Set-up: Typical Amazonian riverine set-up, with bogwood, inert rocks, plants and maybe leaf litter (not essential, but helps to recreate the water conditions in their natural habitat) as decor.
Temperature: 24-28 C
pH: 6.0 - 8.0
Hardness: Soft water preferred, but not critical.
Diet: Anything meaty except fatty mammalian meat. Juveniles can easily be trained to take dried foods such as pellets. Provide variety.
Temperament: They annot stand the sight of each other. Belligerent towards other species of cichlid too. Provide a lot of retreats to reduce aggression.
Sexing: Females have less spangling, a white line on the dorsal fin, and a red belly when ready to breed. They are also smaller than males. Males often have herringbone-like muscle striations on the side of the body (also applies to all other pikes of the Saxatilis group).
Breeding: Pikes can spawn at only 4-5 inches long. Once a pair is formed, they will lay about 300-400 eggs in a cave or in nooks of driftwood after eliminating all tankmates. The slightly elongated eggs are attached to the substrate by a thin filament. The fry are free-swimming in about a week, and are capable of consuming freshly hatched brine shrimp. Fry growth is very rapid and cannibalism will occur if not separated by size.
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